Short Summary

Delegates from all parts of the world are attending the World christian Conference for Palestine which was officially opened at the UNESCO building in Beirut on Thursday (7 May).

Description

Delegates from all parts of the world are attending the World christian Conference for Palestine which was officially opened at the UNESCO building in Beirut on Thursday (7 May).

Lebanese President, Charles Helou, officially opened the conference which is to spend four days discussing ways in which Christians can rally to the Palestinian cause.

Four hundred delegates are attending the conference which was organised by Georges Montaron....Director of the French Catholic magazine "Temoignage Chretien". The delegates include church leaders, politicians, journalists, lawyers, businessmen, doctors, students and Palestinian leaders.

Addressing delegates, President Helou said he thought it clear that the peace, not only of the Middle East but of the whole world, was threatened by Israel's continued policies of aggression and expansion.

It's the first time that Christian leaders have gathered in their individual capacities to discuss the future of Palestine. The conference organisers plan to send reports of their deliberations to Pope Paul, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Orthodox Primate Athenagoras, the World Council of Churches, and United Nations Secretary-General U Thant.